The Pendulum
by Sacred Miko Hime
Summary: EDITED: Kagome has always been surrounded my magic. When a new prophecy arises, she seems to be in its very center. As her quest begins, she meets new friends and maybe, just maybe finds love.
1. Prophecies

Muse: I'm back!

Ttwitch5: (vein throbbing) Yeah, and you only gave me one chapter!

Muse: …so?

Ttwitch5: So?! You didn't tell me where in the world this is going! I have **no clue** what is going to happen!

Muse: …so?

Ttwitch5: …I'm so going to move, change my name, dye my hair, and get a new muse.

Muse: GASP! No!

Ttwitch5: Fine. I'll forgive you if you do this disclaimer.

Muse: Ttwitch5 does not own Inuyasha, Yu Yu Hakusho, the characters, Japan, any songs, poems, ect. used in the story unless otherwise specified, yatta, yatta, yatta. Any similarities with other stories are coincidence. The only thing she owns is the plot…and ME of course!

Ttwitch5: Wonderful... I think. Anyway, thanks to my annoying muse, I have one chapter and absolutely no idea what the plot is. All I know is this is either going to be Kagome and Hiei or Kagome and Sesshoumaru. I'll take votes on pairings and suggestions for anything!

The pendulum swung slowly back and forth underneath the ancient grandfather clock. Its rhythmic beat echoed, resounding eerily solemn in the stifling silence, in the calm before the storm. There was power in the air today, an ancient magic long since disregarded as myth and fantasy. It steadily grew in intensity until the very air was saturated with it.

_The fifteenth star and sun align_

_The past will crumble_

_The future unwritten_

_The present lost in time_

_As destiny is fulfilled _

The ancient magic whispered this prophecy with a voice indescribable by man. The voice held the knowledge of centuries past and of centuries yet to come. It was this voice that observed the strange happenings at the shrine, the girl with untapped power who lived two lives and the brash hanyou who guarded her. It was this voice that watched them today, as a new magic and a new fate settled on the child miko's shoulders.

_Blood and tears move as one_

_Hidden gifts uncovered_

_Enemy turned ally_

_Ally betrays _

_Old scars resurface as new ones form_

_A choice is made _

_A heart is broken_

_And destiny is sealed_

The ancient magic watched as she materialized, battered, broken, and bleeding, clutching a small pink jewel to her chest. It watched as she was taken away in an ambulance and as she was brought back in tears in the arms of her mother a week later. It watched as she picked up the ragged pieces of her heart and struggled to put them back together…and it watched as fate intervened yet again.

_Two paths shall intertwine_

_On broken roads unwinding_

_A bond shall be formed_

_Powers shall clash _

_A new age shall dawn_

_As an old foe is brought to his knees_

_And destiny is fulfilled_

And the pendulum still swings.

I apologize for the extremely short chapter. They will get longer as the story progresses, I promise. Anyway, like I said, I have almost no idea how this story is going to progress, so unless I get reviews with ideas or my muse decides to get up and work for once, I have no idea when this will be updated, especially since in less than a week, I go to camp (Scuba diving! YAY!) for three weeks. So, if I could get some reviews before then, I might be able to get a few chapters written at camp.

**AND I just found out my Great-Grandma's been in the hospital for a couple of days and will probably be in there a couple more. WAH! So if you guys could pray for her, I'd really appreciate it. **


	2. Battles Fought

**Wow. I actually found some time to write! I hope everyone likes this chapter. I've sure spent enough time on it! Anyway, read and review please!**

Hiei refused. He flat out informed Koenma that he would rather be arrested and placed in Reikai Jail than be forced to retrieve a useless bauble from some stupid human onna who couldn't protect it. Koenma _insisted. _

Cursing the junior ruler, Hiei grudgingly followed Yusuke and Kurama up the steps of a nearby shrine, where this pathetic onna was supposed to live. The girl was apparently sickly, having any number of potentially deadly illnesses that had somehow all vanished about five months ago.

So far, the only good thing about this mission (and he used that term very lightly) was that Kuwabara would not be joining them. He'd pleaded that he be allowed to visit his Yukina and since the mission was simply retrieval, Koenma had let him, probably because Kuwabara's honor code would have prevented him from being useful anyway. Bastard. Hiei almost wished the baka human was here instead, as far from his sister as humanly possible.

They finally reached the top of the massive stairway and paused to observe their surroundings. If things came down to a fight, they would need at least some basic knowledge of the terrain if the girl proved to be a challenge, however unlikely that was.

Directly across from them was a huge tree surrounded by a small white picketed fence. Further back was the shrine itself and a smaller building with a well used path. Must be something visitors liked to look at.

"Damn! This shrine has more steps than the old hag's!"

"Try walking up and down them everyday to get to school."

The team turned toward the voice and stared. A dark haired girl was walking toward them carrying an ancient set of bow and arrows over her shoulder. She pulled a single arrow from the quiver, her miko robes rustling in the sudden breeze.

"If you are here to steal the Shikon no tama, I warn you, it shall not be as easy as you think."

With a sudden rush of power, the arrow blazed a crackling pink.

Hiei frowned. Koenma had neglected to mention that the current owner of the Jewel, no matter how sickly, was a miko… and a fairly strong one at that if the energy coursing through the air was anything to go by.

Hiei gripped his katana tightly. He did not wish to face a miko but no matter, he would win one way or another. He noticed the others prepare for battle out of the corner of his eye, though his gaze never left the girl standing a few feet away. Kurama was the first to break the silence

"We do not wish to fight. We have been sent to retrieve the Shikon Jewel by order of Reikai."

The girl paused, obviously weighing her options. She shifted, lowering the bow only slightly.

"What does the spirit world want with the Shikon no Tama after all this time? Why now?"

Kurama sighed, cursing Koenma for not telling them the details. Apparently this mission was classified to all but Koenma and his father and of vital importance. Typical Reikai. This was why half the missions they went on ended badly.

"I do not know Reikai's motives or why they chose to retrieve the Jewel now. I only know that we have been given a mission to retrieve it."

Kurama took a small step forward, testing the girl. He stopped when she brought the bow back up, aiming for his heart. Kurama knew he was powerful, but even he could not survive a direct hit by a miko this strong.

"How do I know that you're really from Reikai? What if you are merely posing as Spirit Detectives after sensing the presence of the Jewel, hoping to lure me into a false sense of security before you rip it from my rotting corpse?"

Damn. This girl had obviously encountered demons before.

"You will just have to trust us on that."

Kagome sighed, her eyes closing in thought. The Spirit Detectives tensed, waiting for her decision, ready to fight at the drop of a pin. She sighed and opened her eyes.

"I believe you."

Kurama let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding, lowering his whip to the ground. Yusuke frowned but relaxed as well. Hiei's hand still rested on his katana.

"However…"

The group tensed again.

"I cannot, will not allow the Jewel to be taken from me. I am its protector. I refuse to allow it to fall into the wrong hands again when I have the power to prevent it."

Kurama readied his whip again, his eyes sad for an instant before the battle rush took over.

"There is no way we can convince you otherwise?"

Kagome shook her head, her blue eyes filled with a deep sadness covered only by her determination.

"Very well."

Yusuke was the first to strike. Kagome's eyes registered the rei gun's trajectory an instant too late and she was unable to dodge the blast.

Yusuke smirked. The fight was finished. Very few people ever got back up again after being hit full on and none of them had ever been human girls. So, needless to say, he was very surprised to find her still standing when the smoke cleared.

Kagome smiled grimly, the pulsing blue barrier dropping once the threat was gone. She silently thanked Miroku for forcing her to practice so much that the action had become instinctual.

"I already told you Yusuke. This will not be an easy battle for any of us."

Kagome reached back and pulled out three arrows, firing them in rapid succession at the three demons. She jumped lightly on the railing, flipping to her feet a few steps away from the Sacred Tree. If necessary, she would draw on its strength during this battle.

Kagome spun, raising her arm to block the strike. Hiei's eyes widened, wondering at the sword she had pulled from nowhere and the speed and strength with which she had blocked his attack. He leaped back to a position from which he would be able to take full advantage of his abilities.

Kagome shifted into an ancient swordsman's stance, one that had been forgotten four hundred years ago and slipped into legend.

"Hmm. You're even faster than Sesshou. This could be a problem."

Kagome struck quickly, her sword a silver blur encased in radiant pink. Hiei had made the first move and with that one blow, Kagome had realized that the only way she would be able to defeat the smaller demon was to put him on the defensive before he could land a fatal blow. Now, if only she could fight without interference from the others.

In the back of her mind, Kagome focused on creating a barrier between herself and the other two demons. She mentally cursed when the shimmering light created a bubble around her and two of the intruders. Oh well, at least foxy would be busy for a while.

With that, Kagome brought her attention back to the battle, allowing her instincts to control the barrier. After all, they had done a pretty good job while she was in the feudal era with no training whatsoever.

Swinging her sword in a wide loop, she abruptly swerved the weapon an instant before it was parried by Hiei's and managed to slash his sword arm. The cut would pretty much neutralize the arm from the slight purifying energy she had poured into the wound. Hiei switched to his left hand. Damn. She hated two handed fighters. They were so much more difficult to beat.

Whirling her sword in order to gain speed before she struck, Kagome stepped back in order to charge. She was brought to her knees an instant later when a searing pain in her shoulder numbed her entire left arm. Through bleary eyes, she saw Yusuke smirking. His finger was smoking with the force he had put into his rei gun. Hmm. Quick learner.

Kagome raced forward, studiously forcing the pain to the back of her mind. After dodging multiple shots, she reached Yusuke. Tapping him with two fingers, she murmured a quiet 'stay' and went back to the fight.

Smiling at the detective's attempts to break free of her temporary control of his body, she was almost pulled back into a memory. Kikyo had used this on her when she had first tried to drag Inuyasha to Hell. Between shaking off the nostalgia and returning to the fight with Hiei, she barely noticed the barrier drop. Foxy was back.

Thick vines erupted from the soil and grabbed her legs, quickly encasing her from the waist down preventing any attempts to move. A stray vine shot up and wrapped around her wrist, its blatant strength forcing her to drop her sword.

Kagome balked when she felt strong arms slip around her waist and warm lips brush her neck. When she looked up, her brown eyes locked with glowing crimson orbs. Fear gripped her heart in a suffocating instant as she was consumed by yet another memory.

_Heavy poison miasma…clothing ripping…screams of pain…the flash of a silver sword…red eyes…a maniacal laughter…a purifying arrow…a shattered jewel reformed…blood flowing down her body…_

Brutally suppressing the memory and vaguely aware of another one surfacing, she growled and let her purifying energy flow over her skin. She smirked when the lips fell away with a yelp and the plants followed an instant later.

"Dammit Youko, how many times do I have to tell you not to do that!"

Freezing in shock when she realized what she had said and what had actually happened, Kagome slowly turned to stare at the silver haired demon behind her. How the hell was he here?!

Youko grinned, the motion somewhat painful with his cracked lips. He had wrested control away from Kurama the instant he had realized the miko they were fighting was the same miko he had met over five hundred years ago, though he had no idea how the hell it was possible.

"Sorry Kagome. I just couldn't resist."

Youko crouched down and plucked a single blade of grass. Filled with his youkai, it grew and hardened into a splendid sword. He grinned back at Kagome when she readied her own, dusting off the dirt from its brief stay on the ground.

"So what do you say Kagome? If you win, you get to keep the Shikon no Tama. If I win, I get it."

Grinning herself, Kagome charged as a way of answering. Youko met her with a swift parry while Hiei and Yusuke watched in surprise, still trying to wrap their heads around the fact that Kagome and Youko knew each other.

"You know Youko, you said the exact same thing the day we met."

Smirking, Youko began a series of blows, the sword becoming a green blur in the air, the whistling shrill in the ears of the demons. Soon, all a normal human would have been able to see were blurs of red and white and the clank of metal striking metal.

Hiei and Yusuke, however, saw a series of blows and parries so fast even they had trouble seeing them. Youko they understood… but how in all the seven hells had a human miko gained the speed and agility of a demon, enough to fend off the legendary silver bandit, even to match him?

Youko saw his opening when Kagome stumbled through a parry. He raced forward and knocked the miko on the ground, quickly sitting on her back with an enormous grin. Kagome grunted and tried to knock the smirking kitsune off of her with little success.

"Of course, you won our little spar the day we met."

Youko smirked, his eyes dancing with mischief.

"And I have not won today?"

"Nope!"

Youko suddenly found himself underneath the miko he had previously been sitting on with a sword pressed to his neck. Kagome beamed, sheathing the weapon before helping Youko back to his feet.

"Well well. You certainly have improved since our last spar Kagome."

"I've had another three year's worth of training since our last spar."

Hearing a not so subtle cough, Kagome turned back toward a glaring fire demon and the Mazoku still paralyzed behind him.

"Oh! I'm sorry! You should be able to move again now."

Turning back to the kitsune beside her, Kagome's face had donned a playful grin.

"So, are you going to make good on our bet Youko?"

Youko's tail twitched, swishing behind him in amusement.

"Now, Kagome, I'm offended! Haven't I always kept our little bargains?"

Kagome crossed her arms, glaring at the demon in mock annoyance.

"Nope. Never. Well, there was that one time…Oh wait, no you stole from me then too."

Youko instantly began to pout though the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

"Aw! Kagome!"

"Once a thief, always a thief, isn't that right Youko?"

Kagome walked forward as she spoke, reaching into a pocket on Youko's shirt and pulling out the Shikon no Tama. Waving the trinket in front of his face, she smiled and put the Jewel back around her neck. Youko frowned, sulking like a child.

"Well, when I grabbed it, I thought I'd won."

"Of _course_ you did Youko."

Youko chuckled. This miko always had amused him…and on that note…

"How in all the hells are you still alive Kagome?"

Kagome sighed.

"It's a long story Youko. A long, long story."

Kagome looked at the three demons staring at her now. It was a good thing her family was on vacation this week for she didn't know how they would react to the news she had to tell.

Actually, she did…and it scared the hell out of her.

Kagome turned back toward the house. She didn't have to look back to know the demons behind her would follow. They would probably follow her to the ends of the Earth in order to complete their mission: the retrieval of the Shikon no Tama, no matter what bargain she and Youko made.

Pushing open the door from its open latch, Kagome swept her arm around an empty living room.

"Please sit."

Youko took a seat on the couch, stretching his legs to cover its entire surface. Yusuke plopped down on the love seat and Hiei perched on the windowsill.

Kagome stepped into the kitchen and removed the teapot whose whistle had been becoming increasingly piercing over the course of the past thirty seconds. Slowly, as if to ward off the tale she had to tell, she poured the steaming liquid into four cups. She would need it before the night was over.

"Would you like some tea?"

After handing each demon his cup (except for Hiei's whose she'd placed beside him when he refused to accept it from her), she shoved Youko's legs off the couch and sipped her tea. The hot drink soothed her frazzled nerves.

"So, what are your names?"

Yusuke shifted slightly before pulling a smart salute.

"Yusuke Urameshi, at your service milady."

Giggling slightly, she looked toward the little fire demon sitting in her window. He glared at her frostily before opening his mouth.

"Hiei."

She nodded and leaned against Youko, slowly working up the courage to speak.

"Onna, why do you stall? Tell us this tale of yours so we can leave."

Hiei flinched slightly when the human miko turned such ancient weary eyes on him that, for a second, he felt as if every weight in the world had settled onto his shoulders.

"I will get to that…but in order to understand this tale, you must first know what has happened since my fifteenth birthday."

Hiei did not respond, still slightly shaken.

"Youko, what I never got to tell you five hundred years ago was that I traveled through time."

Youko's ears swiveled forward, listening with a rapt attention all their own.

"But how?"

"The well."

Youko's face lit up with recognition and a vague sense of understanding.

"On my fifteenth birthday, my cat Buyo was lost in the well house. I went inside to get him out but was instead pulled 500 years into the past by Mistress Centipede."

Kagome glanced up and saw that both Hiei and Yusuke looked doubtful as to validity of her story. Hiei pulled up his white bandana and exposed the Jagon. The third eye glowed malevolently. Kagome shivered when the evil aura touched her mind but allowed it access to her thoughts, knowing it would be the only way Hiei would believe her story.

"When I crawled out of the well, I walked around for a while, completely lost…but then I saw the Scared Tree."

Nodding toward the massive tree outside of the door, Kagome continued.

"Imprisoned to its trunk by a miko's spell, I found an inu-hanyou I would come to know as Inuyasha. When Mistress Centipede attacked the village, I somehow awakened Inuyasha and freed him from the arrow that bound him… but not before Mistress Centipede ripped the Shikon no Tama from my body."

Kagome pulled up her haori, exposing the star shaped scar on her side.

"Later, when we were trying to defeat a crow demon who had stolen the jewel, it was accidentally shattered."

Kagome's voice caught. With that one sentence, the floodgates had opened and she began to cry. She hardly noticed Youko's arms wrap her in a comforting embrace.

"We had to find it…every single piece before something terrible happened…but we were too late. Fifty years before, a mysterious demon had ensnared Inuyasha and Kikyo, the miko had Inuyasha had loved in a trap that forced them to turn on each other in order to taint the Sacred Jewel, which Kikyo guarded. Inuyasha was sealed and Kikyo passed onto the next life."

"When I returned with the jewel, this mysterious demon, Naraku, was still after it…and he would go to any lengths to get it…and to kill me."

Youko tightened his hold on her and Kagome continued.

"While we searched for the jewel shards, our little duo grew larger. The first to join us was Shippo, a young fox demon who had been orphaned when the Thunder Brothers Hiten and Manten had killed his father for the shard he possessed."

"Miroku was next. He had a cursed wind tunnel in his right hand that would slowly devour him until he died a painful death, just like his father and his grandfather. It was his grandfather who had originally fought Naraku and been cursed…and he was a perverted lecher, just like Miroku."

"The next to join us was Sango, the demon slayer. Her entire village had been slain by Naraku while she and a small group of others were at a neighboring castle on a mission. There, her little brother Kohaku was taken over and killed al but Sango and she was tricked into believing it was Inuyasha who had murdered her village. We managed to set her straight after she nearly killed him."

"For over a year, we traveled Japan collecting shards and keeping our eyes and ears open for any sign of Naraku. He managed to evade us by manipulating those around him. He even managed to create 'children' by separating them from his flesh. His two most successful were Kanna and Kagura. Kanna was a void demon who could steal your soul with her enchanted mirror. Kagura was a rebellious wind demoness who could control the dead."

"Almost a year after I met Youko, the Jewel was nearly whole. We had about half. Naraku had the rest. The final battle was almost upon us…and then, I was kidnapped by Naraku."

**Cliffhanger. I'm evil I know, but I actually have a very good reason for ending the chapter there…which you'll find out in the next one. There is also a good reason why quite a few details are left out in the story (besides the fact that it would take absolutely forever and I don't have that kind of time) so…**

**Please be nice and push the review button and make my day!**


	3. Snow White Queen

**Umm, I have some bad news everyone. My mom is kicking out our tenant and since he's the one paying for internet…POOF! No more internet…which means I'll be lucky to have access maybe, oh, once a month? WAAAH!**

**I'll try to update as often as I can but please don't kill e if I don't get anything up for a month… or two…or five. Sorry! IT'S NOT MY FAULT!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own so don't sue. You wouldn't get anything anyway. Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and the song ****Snow White Queen**** belongs to Evanescence. **

Koenma stared cross-eyed at the sword pointed at his nose. How the hell his day had come to this, he had no earthly idea. However, he would throw a tantrum later…when the lord of Makai wasn't about to slaughter him.

"Koenma, did I not inform you that the Shikon no Tama was to remain in the miko's protection?"

There was no question in the words, merely a threat and a pointed reminder, no pun intended.

Koenma's eyes darted wildly around the room, desperately searching his memory for any agreement of the sort.

Suddenly his mind filled with a meeting almost 300 years ago with the silver haired demon in front of him and the treaty that had been signed there. It was sitting in his desk now.

Damn! How had this crucial detail slipped his mind? Scratch that, how had this slipped past his father?! He was so dead!

"Of c-course! R-right away!"

The sword was still aimed between his eyes.

"I do not trust the Spirit World Koenma. I shall go to Ningenkai myself and assure that this remains the case."

Koenma spluttered for an instant before he remembered who this demon was. He could do whatever he pleased without repercussion.

He sighed and laid a weary head on his desk when the youkai king left in a swirl of silver, sheathing the evil blade silently.

---

Kagome felt her throat close up, fighting to keep the past in the past where it belonged. She glanced at the demons occupying her living room through lowered lashes. Youko was positively bristling. Yusuke was attempting to look bored and Hiei was beginning to get irritated.

She sighed. The negative energy coming off the little demon wasn't exactly helping her nerves.

"At first, nothing happened. I was locked in a cold drafty cell and given the standard bread and water treatment. After a week, I still hadn't seen hide nor hair of Naraku. Then…everything changed."

"The first time Naraku came, I was beaten within an inch of my life. Kagura had Kanna heal me."

Kagome felt her voice break and her ribs ached with phantom blows. Youko growled softly behind her.

"The second time he came, he brought a whip. Every time after that, he brought some new toy, some new sick way to torture me. Every day it grew worse. Every day, he became bolder. He played with me, body and mind."

Kagome tried so very hard to just tell them the very surface. She didn't want to tell anyone the terrible mental pain he inflicted, the sultry insults whispered in her ear, the images that haunted her waking dreams. Tears burned her eyes and the memories came anyway.

"The last time he came, he didn't bring anything…"

Hiei's eyes widened to an almost comical size when horrendous flashes flew threw his mind in a jagged blur of unspeakable agony.

"He didn't even bother bringing his clothes."

Youko roared with fury, his eyes blazing red. Yusuke punched the wall, his fist crashing through the thin paneling. Hiei looked slightly ill. Kagome sobbed openly now.

"He violated me and no one got there in time to stop him. I tried to stop him. I did. I really tried. But I just wasn't strong enough."

Youko almost crushed Kagome in his arms, growling softly into her hair as he tried to regain some semblance of sanity. HIS Kagome had been raped and he hadn't known, hadn't even had the slightest idea.

"How many times does this Sesshoumaru have to tell you miko? If I was unable to prevent Naraku's filthy hands from ever touching you, there was surely nothing you could have done."

Kagome's head snapped up and blue eyes met golden orbs.

"Sesshoumaru!"

Kagome raced forward to throw her arms around the menacing demon…or at least she would have if Youko had loosened his iron grip for just one moment. She glanced back at the silver haired kitsune whose eyes were still glowing menacing crimson.

"Youko let me go! That's Sesshoumaru!"

Youko merely glared over her shoulder, his expression never changing.

"Youko!"

"Onna, do not attempt to remove yourself from him. In his current rage, he might kill anyone else who so much as touches you."

Kagome glanced at Hiei, who grimaced at the pair and turned to Sesshoumaru.

"So tell me Lord Sesshoumaru. What is the demon king doing in Ningenkai?"

"You're the demon king?!"

Sesshoumaru gave a small smile at Kagome's outburst and nodded. She beamed, her former depression all but forgotten. Hiei wondered if the girl was bipolar, though with what he had seen, he would be surprised if that's all that was wrong with her.

"Why doesn't that surprise me Sesshou? You always were the strongest demon alive, even in the feudal era."

Sesshoumaru allowed a small smirk to grace his features before he turned back to the hybrid.

"I am here to ensure that the Shikon no Tama remains in Kagome's hands."

There was a pregnant silence as Sesshoumaru's words processed through the semi-paralyzed minds of the Spirit Detectives.

"What?! No way?! Koenma is going to be so pissed if we don't bring the stupid thing back!"

Yusuke fumed at the back of the room, furiously shoving the last few minutes behind the barrier he'd perfected in the back of his mind.

"I assure you detective, Koenma will not. He in fact, neglected to bring to memory an agreement made centuries ago that would ensure the jewel remained in Kagome's care. His father himself signed the document."

He pulled a sealed parchment from his haori and passed it to Yusuke, who nearly threw a fit when Hiei snatched it out of the air. After scanning the elegant writing, he passed it back to Sesshoumaru, nodding to Yusuke. The agreement was valid.

Kagome glanced at Sesshoumaru, curious at to how he had managed to pull that one off. She had met Enma shortly after…and well, he hadn't seemed like the cooperative type but then again, this was Sesshoumaru.

Hiei glared at the floor. The memories of the girl had thrown his careful control out of balance and he needed to kill something to help return it to normal. As he was no longer needed…

"I am returning to Makai."

He departed swiftly. The shrine door remained suspended for an instant before it slammed shut.

_**Stoplight lock the door**_

_**Don't look back**_

"Ow."

Youko's stone-cold arms shakily slipped from Kagome's waist to fall quivering at his sides. Kagome turned to comfort him but was frozen into silence when she caught sight of the brilliant emerald orbs dotted with gold gleaming in his pale face.

"Youko?"

"Shuuichi, actually."

Kagome cocked her head curiously. Raven hair fell softly to the side, revealing a jagged scar that danced across her slender neck. Shuuichi trembled.

"It's a long story Miss Kagome."

Shuuichi closed his eyes, desperately trying to reign in Youko's fury at being restrained. A small hand gently touched his. He opened his eyes to see Kagome cradling his hand. Crimson blood dripped from their interlocked fingers.

The rush of white-hot rage nearly toppled Shuuichi's fragile control. Sweat poured from his brow as he somehow managed to push Youko back into the recesses of their combined mind.

When his eyes opened again, Kagome had pried his hand open and held it that way. Five deep punctures opened the gates for his life blood to flee, to cover his hand and hers. Oh.

"I believe it would be best if we retired for the night. Could we continue this discussion tomorrow?"

He looked with pleading eyes to Sesshoumaru and Kagome, hoping they would see the urgency of the request in the flashing colors therein. They both nodded their mutual consent and Shuuichi sighed with relief.

"I believe I will join Hiei. Yusuke?"

Shuuichi locked eyes with the pacing teen.

"If anything happens…you know how to reach me."

Shuuichi disappeared, leaving a miko and a demon with one very troubled spirit detective. He shuffled around nervously, suddenly unsure of himself and what he could say.

"So…um…could I…well, would it be all right…the couch…?"

Kagome managed a weak smile at the boy.

"Sure Yusuke. You can crash on the couch tonight."

Ignoring the audible sigh of relief, Kagome turned to Sesshoumaru.

"How about you, Sesshou?"

Sesshoumaru looked down on the miko, amusement sparkling behind golden eyes.

"I will stay. If I tire, I will move to your brother's room."

Smiling at the thought of the rather tall demon lord attempting to sleep on her brother's twin size bed, Kagome went to her room to take a shower and change into her night clothes.

_**Undress in the dark**_

_**And hide from you**_

_**All of you**_

Clutching her satin coverlets to her chest, Kagome sat on her bed and stared out at the sky. While it didn't quite match the unspoiled beauty of the stars in the feudal era, they were still lovely, still able to calm her turbulent aura on nights such as these.

She ran a pale pink brush through her hair, trying to somehow delay the inevitable. Sleep had to come sometime.

What would Inuyasha say?

Gasping at the sudden pressure lodged in her throat, Kagome fought back tears and fought back the memories that single thought had brought.

"_Kagome come with me. Leave them."_

_**You'll never know the way**_

_**Your words have haunted me**_

"_Hurry! He'll be here soon! He'll take you back! Is that what you want?!"_

_**I can't believe you'd ask these things of me**_

_**You don't know me**_

"_Kagome!"_

CRASH!!!

Kagome stared at a hundred shattered reflections of her face suspended in shards of floating glass…just like the jewel, just like her heart.

Lowering her outstretched arm, Kagome delicately stepped around the jagged slivers and picked up her brush, brushing glass powder from the handle. She grimaced at the sudden pain and stared at crimson drops cascading down her palm.

Grimacing, she walked back to her bed and pulled out a first aid kit from the nearby dresser. After wrapping her hand, Kagome laid down, exhausted. Though she tried not to, her eyes slowly slid shut and she slipped into the realm of nightmares.

***

_She rolled over, coughing at the sudden ferocity of the flames licking at her skin, their acrid breath threatening to choke her. Stumbling to her feet, she caught sight of a narrow tunnel. She raced forward, through the gap in the fire, and almost fell into nothingness._

_Kagome squinted into the darkness, trying to make out something, anything in the inky blackness. She listened carefully, trying to hear something, anything in the frightening silence. There was only herself and the fearful precipice on which she stood._

_**You belong to me**_

_**My snow white queen**_

_Kagome spun around, trying to guess the location of the voice that caressed her skin with smooth evil. She did not have to wait long, for a man soon stepped out of the flames, still glowing with a menacing aura._

"_Naraku!"_

"_Yes my love. Now, be a good little girl and hand over the jewel."_

_**There's nowhere to run**_

_**So let's just get it over**_

"_No!"_

"_Now, my love, is that any way for a slave to speak to her master?"_

_Kagome stepped back and her heels touched a black void. From her precarious position, Kagome glared at the vile demon in front of her._

"_I'm not your slave and I'd rather be dead than give you the jewel!"_

"_Now, my love, why ever would you say that?"_

_A writhing tentacle shot forward and pushed Kagome over the edge. She screamed as she plummeted to her death. In the freefall, Kagome noticed shimmering fragments of the corrupted Shikon no tama floating beside her. What an odd thing to imagine before she died._

_She hit the ground with a sickening crunch._

_Kagome laid there locked in the moment of her death. Her entire being ached. New pains danced along the edges of her awareness. Once or twice, she thought she heard a familiar voice for an instant before it too faded into insignificance. Nothing mattered but the pain._

_**Soon I know you'll see**_

_**You're just like me**_

_Naraku stood over her, delighting in her agony. He held a luminescent jewel to her face and forced her to watch as it became corrupted. She didn't know why she should care. He frowned and touched her forehead, as if concerned. She cried out in pain._

_**Don't scream anymore my love,**_

_**Cause all I want is you**_

_Kagome sobbed into her hands, her blood stained hands, when he left. She wouldn't let him see her tears. Through the pain, her body shut down. Kagome lost consciousness and oh, how she wished it had been forever._

_**Wake up in a dream**_

_**Frozen fear**_

_There was something touching her! It was crawling along her skin like a thousand tiny spiders. Two glowing red eyes hovered dangerously close to her face and something foul, wet, and cold slammed into her lips._

_**All your hands on me**_

_**I can't scream**_

_No…no…no…no…no…NO! This couldn't be real! This couldn't be happening! This couldn't be! Someone had to save her! Someone! Anyone! Someone help! _

_**I can't scream**_

_No one came._

_**I can't escape the twisted way you think of me**_

"_Good night, my love." _

_**I feel you in my dreams and I don't sleep**_

_**I don't sleep**_

"_Sweet dreams."_

_**You belong to me**_

_**My snow white queen**_

"_I shall come again tomorrow."_

_**There's nowhere to run**_

_**So let's just get it over**_

_Kagome sobbed, still lying where he had left her, bleeding and broken on heartless stone._

_**Soon I know you'll see**_

_**You're just like me**_

"_Good night, my love."_

_**Don't scream anymore my love,**_

_**Cause all I want is you**_

"_NOOOOOOOO!"_

***

"What's wrong with her?!"

Yusuke frantically held the thrashing miko to the bed for fear she would harm herself. Youko held her other side. Both were panicking at the amount of blood beginning to soak through the coverlets.

_**I can't save your life**_

_**Though nothing I bleed for is more tormenting**_

"She's having nightmares! Damn it!"

"It's actually a quite more complicated than that."

_**I'm losing my mind and you just stand there**_

_**And stare as my world divides**_

Both boys turned to Sesshoumaru who sat in the corner with Hiei. The hybrid was boiling water in a cauldron that would have taken hours to heat by conventional means. Sesshoumaru was furiously tossing in herbs and potions and staring at them with anxious eyes, trying to ignore Kagome's screams of pain. It was the most emotion anyone in the room had ever seen from the demon king.

"Naraku placed a curse on her before his death. Whenever she is in a deep sleep, she _relives_ the events of her captivity, both physically and mentally."

_**You belong to me **_

_**My snow white queen**_

Hiei looked up, his concentration broken for an instant.

"You mean…"

"Yes hybrid. Naraku essentially rapes her every time she closes her eyes."

_**There's nowhere to run**_

_**So let's just get it over**_

Hiei stared at the miko struggling against Youko and Yusuke and against her nightmares. For the first time, he saw the dark circles under her eyes, the pallid complexion of her skin, the almost unnoticeable bones peeking through her frail frame.

_**Soon I know you'll see**_

He shuddered, racked with memories of Yukina, and doubled his efforts with Sesshoumaru's remedy. The sudden increase in temperature startled the demon lord, though he did not show it. He nodded at the demon and continued his own efforts.

_**You're just like me**_

"She seems to have calmed down somewhat."

Youko pulled his hair back, slowly reaching across Kagome to grasp the pale silver ribbon that lay innocently on her dresser. He tied back his hair and sat exhausted next to the shivering miko.

"Naraku has left her for now. However, that's only temporary unless we can get this into her."

Yusuke glanced at Sesshoumaru. The demon looked paler than normal and his amber eyes were slowly tingeing red. He held a vial of a smelly green concoction in his clawed fingers

"Ew! What is that?!"

"It is a temporary measure we discovered shortly after Kagome returned to us. It protected her mind until we sent the foul hanyou to hell. The visions had stopped sometime after that."

_**Don't scream anymore my love**_

_**Cause all I want is you**_

Sesshoumaru stepped over to the miko, held her nose, and poured the liquid into her mouth. He held her jaw shut while she struggled anew. After she swallowed the remedy, he moved to stand solemnly by the wall.

"Now what?"

Hiei watched the miko, a curious sensation lodged in his stomach…almost like…

"Now we wait."

Sure enough, not even ten minutes later, Kagome's feeble thrashing ceased and she slipped into a dreamless slumber.

"So what the hell was that Sesshoumaru?"

The demon king turned tired eyes on the bedraggled spirit detective, no more emotion in them than slate. Yusuke squirmed under the iron gaze.

"If the visions stopped, than what the hell was that?!"

He gestured toward Kagome, his voice rising steadily in volume and pitch before he found a sword to his throat.

"If you wake her Yusuke, I assure you, you will not like your fate."

Nodding furiously, Yusuke gasped as Youko released his youki from the sword, which turned back into a simple blade of grass.

"But I am curious Sesshoumaru-_sama. _How could this happen?"

Sesshoumaru sighed, suddenly feeling weary.

"I am not sure. I suspect that telling you her story could have brought on this…attack. However, I feel there is something else at play here, though what it is, I don't know."

Youko's ears flattened and Yusuke looked down guiltily, irritated at his possible part in this.

"In any case, she should be fine for the rest of the night. We should all get some sleep."

No one moved.

"Very well. We shall rest here for the night."

Sesshoumaru leaned against the wall and watched as the others also selected places around the room. The only one who did not remain was the hybrid and even he did not go far. Sesshoumaru could sense him in the God Tree not far from Kagome's window.

Sesshoumaru looked at the miko who had dared to face him 500 years ago and marveled at her ability to draw both humans and demons alike to her side.

_Be alright Kagome. _


	4. The Hunters and the Hunted

Kagome sat up slowly, silently. Auburn eyes darted quickly about the room, observing the predators sleeping in the shadows.

They were the hunters. She was the prey.

She stepped gingerly around a body on the floor, shivering when her foot brushed rough cloth. She couldn't afford to wake any of them.

They were powerful. She was weak.

One blocked the door, even in slumber. She looked around frantically, desperate for escape.

They were the many. She was only one.

She dashed to the window, ripping it open. She leapt back and crashed into a table. A lamp tipped over and shattered on the carpet.

They had come for her. She couldn't escape.

Sinister red eyes glowed in the window embodied in a black silhouette. The others stirred, waking with snarls and curses. She whirled, racing for the door.

They were chasing her. She had to get away.

Golden orbs flashed before her. She spun to avoid them and fell into cold steel arms. The others surrounded her.

They had caught her. She feared more than death at their hands.

She thrashed wildly, her feeble might gaining little against their strength. They held her down, shouting loudly.

They had won. She had lost.

* * *

Yusuke seized Kagome's flailing arms, cursing as they slipped from his grasp. Youko gripped her kicking legs and Sesshoumaru grabbed her head. Her eyes darted wildly, huge in their panic.

Hiei ripped the white bandana from his forehead and opened the Jagan eye. He took Sesshoumaru's place holding Kagome's head. The taiyoukai moved to the wall, cautioning the hybrid as he went.

"Be careful Hiei. She may be delusional…but she is still a miko and she is still my adopted sister. If she is harmed further, you will pay dearly."

Hiei nodded before rushing into the chaos of Kagome's mind.

* * *

Hiei clamped his hands over his ears, screaming with pain. The entire cavern echoed with muffled screams of agony not his own and maniacal laughter, the likes of which he had never heard before. Pervading through it all was the clank of chains and the faint dripping of water into puddles of blood.

Forcing the angry symphony to the back of his mind, Hiei moved toward the source of the auras, ignoring the blood stained weapons hung in the hallways.

Hiei stepped through a narrow opening in the stone, studiously avoiding the slime covering the doorway. When his eyes adjusted to the gloom, Hiei almost turned away as the bile rose in his throat.

A gargantuan mass of tentacles writhed in the middle of the floor, almost obscuring the pale form sheathed in crimson blood that was Kagome. Hiei could barely discern fragile wrists being held high above a mass of matted black hair and slender legs being held apart by two twisting tentacles.

When he saw a dripping tentacle slither up Kagome's thigh, Hiei was consumed by a raging fury so intense, he failed to notice the Dragon break free from its binding and begin to rip the monstrosity apart.

He raced forward, slashing at the limbs that attempted to hold him back. When he reached the whimpering figure on the ground, he turned toward the black haired entity hovering just out of sword range.

"Who are you?"

The man chuckled evilly, eyeing the shaking miko hiding behind the hybrid.

"My name is not important, only my purpose."

Hiei growled, moving closer to Kagome. With a sudden flash of memory, Hiei knew who the bastard was.

"Naraku!"

Naraku chuckled darkly, an evil smirk on his arrogant face.

"I see my reputation precedes me. I suppose the little slut told you her sob story, did she? Was it while you pounded into her sweet body? That was when she told me everything I ever needed to know."

Hiei roared and lunged forward but his sword slashed empty air. Naraku had disappeared yet his voice remained.

"Guard her well, forbidden child. I will be back to claim what is mine."

Hiei cursed softly, moving to check over the fallen miko. He winced at the wounds covering her skin and slowly turned her over.

She opened her eyes and Hiei half-expected her to start screaming again. What he did not expect was for her to latch onto his shirt, sobbing openly.

Hiei stood there awkwardly. Comforting a crying female had never been one of his strong points and certainly not one that had gone through what Kagome had. He slowly patted her back.

"He's gone, onna. He can't hurt you any more. He's gone."

Kagome stopped sobbing long enough to look up at him with eyes almost as red as his own.

"No, he's not Hiei. He's alive. He's alive and he'll be back for me."


	5. Return

Hiei froze. Kagome watched him through tormented eyes. In the end, she knew he would believe her. If no sooner, when Naraku showed up at their doorstep, they would all believe her.

"I thought you killed him."

Yes, Hiei could distinctly remember seeing the bastard purified when Kagome's memories had flashed through his mind. That had been the only pleasant minute of the whole lot.

"I did but he's back somehow. I've felt him at the back of my mind for weeks now. This is the first time he's managed to…visit me."

Hiei's grip tightened instinctively around the trembling miko he held in his arms. While he had never been one for physical contact of any kind, this girl had gained his respect both as a warrior and as a fellow being who'd been forced to overcome enormous odds. She also reminded him of his sister…and anyone who touched his sister died.

"Hiei? Can we leave? Please?"

Hiei glanced around at the carnage, at the blood stained dungeon, at the rusty weapons and scattered remains. Leaving was beginning to look like a very good idea. He tapped Kagome between the eyes and watched as she slowly faded.

Hiei looked around once more before he too allowed himself to depart as well.

When Hiei opened his eyes to the outside world, he couldn't see Kagome through the mass of male bodies suddenly surrounding her. Kagome was crying into Sesshoumaru's haori sleeve. Yusuke was handing gauze, bandage, and antibiotics to Kurama, who was steadily wrapping Kagome's still bleeding wounds. When Youko had given up control, Hiei would never know.

"What happened Hiei?"

Hiei merely shook his head. He was still having trouble processing the encounter himself and he wanted to be sure he fully understood it himself before he tried explaining it to anyone else…but there was one thing he could tell them.

"That bastard's alive."

Sesshoumaru's head snapped toward the hybrid, his eyes glowing with anger and disbelief.

"That is not possible. I witnessed his death with my own eyes."

Hiei glared at the ground furiously. His hand twitched, desiring to grab hold of his blade and slash the demon to pieces and make sure he was dead. He glanced at the shaking miko, overwhelmed by her similarity to his sister.

"So did I. So did she; however, he is alive now."

"Not for long."

Hiei glanced toward Kurama, surprised to see Youko's golden eyes glaring out of Kurama's body. The kitsune was allowing Kurama to finish bandaging Kagome but was obviously having difficulty restraining his bloodlust.

Whatever happened next, he had no doubt that someone was going to die.


End file.
